Battle of Glogau

The Battle of Glogau (late August 1805) was a battle of the War of the Sixth Coalition, between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. General Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel and 1,500 Prussian troops attempted to move through French-controlled Silesia to support a rebellion against French rule in Berlin by Brandenburger Prussians, but Marshal Joachim Murat and 8,820 French troops defeated the Prussians in a short battle.

Background
In late 1805, Prussia joined the Austrian Empire, Russian Empire, Great Britain, Sweden, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Kingdom of Sicily in a Sixth Coalition against the French Empire. Marshal Joachim Murat had captured the Austrian city of Breslau, Silesia with 8,820 French troops left over after the attack, and when news arrived that Prussia was going on the offensive against France, Murat planned to go on the offensive first. The Prussian general Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel and 1,500 Prussian troops marched through Silesia in an attempt to reach Brandenburg, where Prussian civilians rose up against the French occupation of their capital of Berlin. The rebel army at Berlin was very strong and large, so Marshal Michel Ney could not afford to fight both the rebels and Emanuel's army. Murat was therefore forced to defeat the Prussians, or else France would lose Berlin. Murat left Breslau with his army, and proceeded to intercept the Prussians near the city of Glogau, where battle was joined.

== Battle =

The Prussian army took up positions on a hill near some small farms, and the French took up positions around a half-mile away, with their left flank located in the forests. The French cannon were positioned in the wooded areas, where they had cover from Prussian cannon, although this hampered their accuracy. After around ten minutes, the Prussians refused to budge, although four of Emanuel's bodyguards were killed by a cannonball blast. Murat ordered his infantry to move to the hill to attack the Prussian army as it stood, as the cannon were unable to pound the Prussians into retreating. The French infantry had a disadvantage, fighting a battle that was vertical. The Prussian infantry were eventually forced off the hill and French lancers and Murat's cavalry forced the Prussian cavalry to break off from melee combat. Although the Prussian infantry attempted to make an assault after returning to the battlefield, they were routed, and the French infantry ended the battle by taking down the Prussian artillery. 640 French and 1,470 Prussian troops were lost, and the Prussian army of Emanuel was eliminated. Murat proceeded to return to Breslau, and Ney built up forces to put down the uprising.